"Friday Night Lights" the movie (1 Viewer)

[Hutch]

lf you like High School/College Football and you haven't seen this movie, hire it on DVD.

lt is based on a true story about a high school in Odessa, Texas, they played the State Championship in the Houston Astrodome.

Hire it on DVD, you'll love it. l certainly did.

 

[Toejam]

lf you like High School/College Football and you haven't seen this movie, hire it on DVD.

lt is based on a true story about a high school in Odessa, Texas, they played the State Championship in the Houston Astrodome.

Hire it on DVD, you'll love it. l certainly did.

I've never even heard of this, when did it come out?

 

[Hutch]

I've never even heard of this, when did it come out?

Joe it came out in 2004.

Review by Derek Armstrong
Friday Night Lights was billed as a "different kind of sports movie," but the film's greatest departure from brethren like Remember the Titans and Varsity Blues is stylistic, not substantive. Peter Berg's herky-jerky camera might bring in more indie-minded viewers than your typical football movie, but it adds little extra legitimacy to the standard components: the obsessive heartland town, the caustic parental pressure, the vein-popping coach, the long-odds push toward the big game. Since it's based on a true story, one can't blame any screenwriter (in this case, Berg) for concocting a bunch of "movie moments" -- only for choosing it as a story that needed telling. Even if it's not that much "different," Friday Night Lights does do a lot of things right. One of these is its handling of the requisite injured athlete facing an unknown future. Since revealing the character would constitute a spoiler, suffice it to say that the actor gives a performance of great burning frustration, drawing sympathy from the audience in a way that the character's previous swagger did not. But the film's most impressive performance goes to country singer and novice actor Tim McGraw, whose turn as a disappointed father is so intense, it leaves blood on the celluloid. These performances contribute to an overall detailed authenticity that's a credit to Berg, who has matured a lot since his previous two features, a popcorn action movie (The Rundown) and a mean-spirited black comedy (Very Bad Things). Maybe Berg is really what sets Friday Night Lights apart.

 

[Jimmy Hart]

I enjoyed the movie quite a bit, but it certainly didn't compare to the book. The novel the movie is based on - same title - goes into a lot of detail about the preferential treatment the football players received and some of the less family-friendly details that really seperate it from most sports stories.

 

[Professor Dave]

The Texas sports movie I like is "the Rookie," about the high school baseball coach who challenges his team to do well by promising to throw before major league scouts if they win the state championship-he had been a minor league pitcher but hurt his arm. His arm strength returns as does his fast ball. The team wins the state championship and he makes the major leagues, all in the same year. It's based on a true story. It was on ABC Saturday night after qualifying from Houston.

 

[Ted]

I enjoyed the movie quite a bit, but it certainly didn't compare to the book. The novel the movie is based on - same title - goes into a lot of detail about the preferential treatment the football players received and some of the less family-friendly details that really seperate it from most sports stories.

The book was not flattering to the town of Odessa. The Midland/Odessa stops on the book tour were cancelled due to death threats. (according to my brother who lived there at the time)

BTW the hospital in the movie is actually the Applied Materials factory here in Austin. It was cool to see a bunch of 70's cars in our parking lot for a few days, and have the cast and crew in the cafeteria.

 

[Toejam]

Joe it came out in 2004.

Review by Derek Armstrong
Friday Night Lights was billed as a "different kind of sports movie," but the film's greatest departure from brethren like Remember the Titans and Varsity Blues is stylistic, not substantive. Peter Berg's herky-jerky camera might bring in more indie-minded viewers than your typical football movie, but it adds little extra legitimacy to the standard components: the obsessive heartland town, the caustic parental pressure, the vein-popping coach, the long-odds push toward the big game. Since it's based on a true story, one can't blame any screenwriter (in this case, Berg) for concocting a bunch of "movie moments" -- only for choosing it as a story that needed telling. Even if it's not that much "different," Friday Night Lights does do a lot of things right. One of these is its handling of the requisite injured athlete facing an unknown future. Since revealing the character would constitute a spoiler, suffice it to say that the actor gives a performance of great burning frustration, drawing sympathy from the audience in a way that the character's previous swagger did not. But the film's most impressive performance goes to country singer and novice actor Tim McGraw, whose turn as a disappointed father is so intense, it leaves blood on the celluloid. These performances contribute to an overall detailed authenticity that's a credit to Berg, who has matured a lot since his previous two features, a popcorn action movie (The Rundown) and a mean-spirited black comedy (Very Bad Things). Maybe Berg is really what sets Friday Night Lights apart.

John I was joking! Friday night lights was a very popular Sports movie here in the States!